Bassil Reiterates Rejection of 'Naturalization' as Austria FM Vows Help on Refugees
Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil reiterated Friday Lebanon's rejection of any naturalization of Syrian refugees on its soil, following talks with visiting Austrian FM Sebastian Kurz.
“Naturalization is prohibited in our Constitution,” said Bassil during a joint press conference with Kurz after their meeting at the Bustros Palace.
“We insist on a safe return for the Syrian refugees to their country in order to resolve this crisis,” Bassil added.
Turning to the tense situation in the region, the minister said: “We are concerned over the spread of sectarianism in the region, seeing as we are an example of coexistence and tolerance.”
“We stress the need to preserve the unique Lebanese example of diversity,” he added.
Kurz for his part pledged to exert major efforts to help Lebanon cope with the Syrian refugee crisis, noting that his country has earmarked five million euros for humanitarian relief in the region.
On December 17, Prime Minister Tammam Salam stressed that the Syrian refugees will not be “naturalized” in Lebanon, as he launched the Lebanon Crisis Response Plan for 2016.
“I say to whomever it might concern: the naturalization of the refugees is out of the question. It is not in our calculations or in the calculations of our Syrian brothers,” Salam said.
A country of four million people, Lebanon is hosting more than 1.1 million Syrian refugees who have fled the nearly five-year war across the border.
Y.R.
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